Jizo Bosatsu standing on a double lotus

In this fine example of wooden sculpture, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is complete with a ring-shaped halo, a pedestal in the form of two lotus blossoms and his typical characteristic attributes: a cintamani jewel in his left hand and a Khakkhara staff held in his right hand. The “jewel that grants all desires”, in Japanese nyoishu or hōshu (“precious pearl”), represents the treasure of the knowledge of Buddhist law. The “pilgrim’s staff”, which in Japanese is normally called a “tin staff” (shakujō), is adorned at the top with a fixed number of loose rings that jingle to signal the passage of an itinerant monk, drive away snakes and cast out demons.
The statue is set on a hollow pedestal (h. 15.4 cm) with two tenons beneath the feet. The pedestal also has a housing for the long bracket joined to the halo; other removable items include the staff, inserted through the fist of the right hand, and the necklace.